The right-wing populist Law and Justice party is on course to win most seats in Poland's general election, exit polls suggest, but is unlikely to secure a third term in office. Pollsters Ipsos suggest the party, known as PiS, has 36.1% of the vote and the centrist opposition is on 31%. If the exit polls are correct, then Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition has a better chance of forming a coalition. He is aiming to end eight years of PiS rule under leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski. With 80.27% of votes counted, the National Electoral Commission says Law and Justice has 36.27% of the vote. Civic...…The right-wing populist Law and Justice party is on course to win most seats in Poland's general election, exit polls suggest, but is unlikely to secure a third term in office. Pollsters Ipsos suggest the party, known as PiS, has 36.1% of the vote and the centrist opposition is on 31%. If the exit polls are correct, then Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition has a better chance of forming a coalition. He is aiming to end eight years of PiS rule under leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski. With 80.27% of votes counted, the National Electoral Commission says Law and Justice has 36.27% of the vote. Civic...WW…

24 February 2021Amnesty International has stripped the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny of his "prisoner of conscience" status after it says it was "bombarded" with complaints highlighting xenophobic comments that he has made in the past and not renounced.A spokesman for the human rights organisation in Moscow told the BBC that he believed the wave of requests to "de-list" Navalny was part of an "orchestrated campaign" to discredit Vladimir Putin's most vocal critic and "impede" Amnesty's calls for his release from custody.But on review, Amnesty International concluded that...…24 February 2021Amnesty International has stripped the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny of his "prisoner of conscience" status after it says it was "bombarded" with complaints highlighting xenophobic comments that he has made in the past and not renounced.A spokesman for the human rights organisation in Moscow told the BBC that he believed the wave of requests to "de-list" Navalny was part of an "orchestrated campaign" to discredit Vladimir Putin's most vocal critic and "impede" Amnesty's calls for his release from custody.But on review, Amnesty International concluded that...WW…

For the past four years, Marina Udgodskaya has scrubbed and mopped the offices of the local administration building in Povalikhino in rural Russia. Now the 35-year-old cleaner is downing her dusters to move into the boss's seat, after winning an election earlier this month that she only entered to in order to get him reappointed.When no-one in the village signed-up to challenge Nikolai Loktev, who's from the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, he persuaded Ms Udgodskaya to register as his "rival" to ensure the minimum requirement of two candidates.That plan backfired when the cleaner beat him...…For the past four years, Marina Udgodskaya has scrubbed and mopped the offices of the local administration building in Povalikhino in rural Russia. Now the 35-year-old cleaner is downing her dusters to move into the boss's seat, after winning an election earlier this month that she only entered to in order to get him reappointed.When no-one in the village signed-up to challenge Nikolai Loktev, who's from the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, he persuaded Ms Udgodskaya to register as his "rival" to ensure the minimum requirement of two candidates.That plan backfired when the cleaner beat him...WW…